Subaqueous tu nn eling-machine



'(N`o Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

l L. GROVER. SUBAQUBOUS TUNNELING MACHINE.

` No. 444,244. Patented Jan. 6, 1891.

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(No Model.) 2 sheetssheet 2 L. GRO-VER. SUBAQUEOUS TUNNBLING MACHINE.

No. 444,244. Patented Jan. 6, 1891.

. UNITE-DiSTffl?s*i PATENT LEONARD G'Rovnn, or noMEn, MICHIGAN.

SUBAQUEO'US TUNN'ELiNe-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,244, dated January6, 1891.

Application filed J'une 16, 1890. Serial No. 355,536.- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, LEONARD GROVER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Homer, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful lmprovements in SubaqueousTunneling-Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled .in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.reference being had to the accom panying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in theconstruction of sub-aqueous and subterranean tunnels; and it consists 1nemploying at the construction end of the tunnel a traveling caissoncylindrical in formand open at each end, the diameter of said caissonbeing slightly greater than the diameter of the tunnel. In the forwardend of said caisson and adapted to travel vhorizontally therein is arevolving disk or head that snugly iills the inner diameter of thecaisson, said revolving head being provided with a sectionalexcavating-knife projecting from its outer face and extending from thecenter of said head to its periphery, said knife being adapted to removethe earth from in front of the tunnel as the caisson is forced ahead,the tunnel being constructed within the walls of the rear end of thecaisson.

The objects of the invention are to provide a traveling caisson orshield that may be forced into the heading of earth in advance of thetunnel and the earth removed therefrom, as the tunnel is constructedWithin said caisson, the arrangement of parts being such as to preventany possible cave-in and to exclude all water from the interior of thetunnel, and a further arrangement of parts whereby the earth may beexcavated in advance of the traveling caisson, if desired, as saidcaisson is forced ahead in the construction of the tunnel. These objectsare attained by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section through thecaisson-o1' shield, the excavating machinery located therein, and aportionfof the construction end of the tunnel. Fig. 2 is Lacross-section through the caisson and excavating machinery, taken ondotted line of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the caisson and therevolving head or disk located therein, showing the sectional knifesecured in the outer face of said head and the manholes therein. Fig. 4is a central horizontal"l section through the conveyer.

Referring to the letters of reference, A iudicates the traveling caissonor shield, which is made preferably of steel and is in the form of ahollow cylinder, the diameter of which isl somewhat larger than that ofthe tunnel, so as to permit of the construction of the tunnel within thecircumference of the rear end of the caisson-wall. The caisson isprovided at or near its longitudinnal center with thediametrically-extending rib or iange A', that strengthens the caissonagai nst collapsing and forms a bearing or base against which the jacksm rest, that afford the means by which the caisson is forced ahead. rlheforward end of the caisson is sharpened or beveled, as shown at A inFig. 1, to facilitate its passage into the earth.

B indicates a broad metal ring that snugly fills the interior of thecaisson, and is splined in the forward end thereof, as shown at m inFig. 2, whereby said ring is held from rotating, but is permitted totravel longitudinally within the caisson, said ring havingA mountedtherein a series of pinions H H, as shown in Figs. l and 2. f

C indicates a revolving metal disk or head that fills the inner diameterof the caisson, said head being provided with the annularhorizontally-extending iiange C', that extends within the ring B, saidflange having on its periphery a series of cog-teeth Lthat are adaptedto engage with the pinions H, mounted in the ring The head C is securedto the ring B by means of the annular ange that extends from theperiphery of the flange C of said head and engages with a correspondingshoulder on said ring, as shown at t inv Fig. l.

To exclude the water and mud from the bearing-faces between the head Cand ring B, the outer face of the ring B is provided with' an annulartenond, thatis receivedy in a corresponding groove inthe inner face ofthe head C, which construction acts as a sand'- IOO band fo exclude thedirt from between said head and ring. The remaining portions of saidbearingfaces meet on the angular line f, which forms so indirect apassage that but little, if any, water will find its way through,

thus obviating the use of packing and producing a comparatively tightjoint that offers but little friction between said parts.

'lhe head C is revolved by power furnished io through the drive-shaft J,which may be driven by compressed air or any suitable power foundadaptable. On the end of the shaft .I is a beveled gear J', that mesheswith lhe gear K l on the ends of the counterr5 shafts K K, saidcounter-shafts carrying on their opposite ends the beveled gears L L,that mesh with the gears L L on'thc end of the shaft liournaied in thering l and carrying the pinions Il H, that mesh with the cogzo teeth I Ion the periphery of the fiange C of the head C, as clearly shown inFigs. l and whereby the head C is revolved through the medium of thepinions Il' II, the countershafts and their gearing driven by the mainor drive shaft J, the requisite power and speed being secured by therelative sizes of the gearing, which will be readily understood. It willalso be apparent that the manner of transmitting the motion to the headC through the 3o shaft-s and gearing may be changed or varied,

as is found most expedient and effective.

In the outer face of the revolving head is located a sectional knife D,of which there are three sections shown at D D D in Fig. 3.

Each section of the knife is hinged at v/y (sec Fig. l) in the face ofsaid head, and the cntting-angle of each sectionof the knife isregulated by the circular rack a (which is pivoted at its outer end tothe knife) and the pinion s, that meshes with said rack, said pinionsbe- 5o earth from the opening l). Said eonveyer is in the form of a right-angled triangle, one of its iiglit-aiigled sides being secured to theinner face ofthe head C, so that the con veyei1 revolves therewith, theother right-angled portion ofthe 5 5 conveyer extending horizontallyrearward on aline with the axis of said head. At the three points ofangle within the conveyer is located a friction-rollei'n, (shown in Fig.4,) over which passes an endless belt provided with rake- Go teeth 2',that engage and convey the earth .de-

posited in the coiiveyer from the knife to the discharge-port G in theend of the coiiveyer, from whence it may be carted to' the tunnelshaftor removed in any desired manner.

On the inner face of the flange C of the head C is a worm-thread h, thatengages with the teeth of the rack 71.', pivoted at ii to the flange Aofthe caisson. lf it. is desired to carrythev head C forward in thecaisson to the outer end A thereof, as said head is revolvedihe rack his thrown down to the position shown in Fig. l, when the worin-thread7i, revolving in the teeth of said rack, will carry said head forward tothe desired point.

It will also be observed that a reverse motion of the head C will carrysaid head backward in the saine manner. lVhen itis desired thatthe headC shall remain at a certain point within the caisson, the rack 7i. israised from contact with the worin-thread 71., when the head willrevolve, but will not travel horizontally in the caisson.

In constructing a subaqueous tunnel with this improved caisson andexcavator a shaft is first sunk at the side of the stream or body ofwater to be tunneled under to the required depth at which the tunnel isto be laid. In the excavation at the bottoni of said shaft the caissonA, with its excavating machinery, is placed, the forward end A of thecaisson heading` in the direction of the course of the tunnel. Theconstruction of the tunnel is then commenced within the rear end of thecaisson, the shell of the tunnel being constructed of rectangular inetal pla-tes N, bolted together, with lead or other suitable packingbetween the joints to render it water-tight. The tunnel having beenconstructed a sufficient distance within the caisson, the jacks m, whichmay be either screw or hydraulic jacks, are placed between the ends ofthe plates N of the tunnel and the flange A of' the caisson, by means ofwhich the caisson is forced ahead into the earth, as shown in Fig. 1.The head C is then revolved, when the knife D therein will remove theearth within the caisson from in front of said head as the caissonadvances, the earth being carried away by the conveyor Gr, as beforedescribed. As the plates N of the tunnel are set in place the jacks lmare shifted so as to bear against thc ends of the plates last set andthat extend farthest into the tunnel, as shown in Fig. l. By thisarrangement the forward motion of the caisson may be made almostcontinuous.

Between the inner wall of the caisson and the periphery of the tunnel assaid tunnelis constructed and the caisson is forced ahead is placed afilling I of any suitable packing or cement that prevents the water fromentering the tunnel between the wall of the caisson and the periphery ofthe tunnel, and a-lso forms a protective coating around thetunnel-casing.

lVhen tunneling in soft or treacherous ground it is desirable to operatethe revolvinghead some distance within the caisson, as shown in Fig. l.The extending rim of the caisson acts as a shield to prevent the earthfrom caving in, and is steadily advanced in that position as the earthis removed by the knife of the revolving head.

Should the earth become too soft or the caisson encounter sufficientwater t0 cause it IOO IIO

to flow through the opening l) behind the knife, said opening maybeclosed by drawing the edge of the knife upward against `the face of thehead C by means of the rack a, rendering the revolving disk water-tight.'lhe caisson is then forced ahead without revolving said disk untilsolid ground is again encountered, when the excavating will proceed asbefore. v

When operating in hard ground, into which it would require a greatamountof power to force the caisson, it is desirable to operate therevolving head at the forward end of the caisson, so that by extendingthe knife D the earth may be excavated from in front of thecaisson-wall, which will permit of the easy and rapid advancement ofsaid caisson. Should the earth be so hard as to offer too great aresistance to the entire length of the knife, said knife being insections, but one section at a time may be used untilit has cut its way,when another section of the knife may be thrown out, and so on until theexcavation extends across the entire diameter of the tunnel, when thecaisson may be forced ahead and the operation repeated.

F F indicate gates or doors opening` through the head C above the knifeD, said gates being held closed by the metal barse e. The purpose ofsaid doors is to permit of the removal of bowlders or obstructions fromin front of the knife.

E E are man-holes in the head C through which the earth or rockin frontof said head may be blasted, if desired. Said man-holes also affordsight-openings through which to View the nature of the earth inadvanceof the revolving head and the operation of the knife.

It will now be evident that in the employment of this improved tunnelingdevice the operators are entirely free from danger, as the revolvingdisk D forms a bulklhead behind which they work, and which affords aperfect protection against the caving in of the earth or a sudden intiowof water, and bythe employment of this device it is not necessary toconstruct what is called a deep tunnel, there being no danger of acave-in. The tunnel may be constructed just below the riverbottom, thusenabling the maintenance of the same grade as that of a deep tunnel,with much shorter approaches, effecting a great saving in the cost ofconstruction.

Havingthus fully set forth my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a subaqueous tunneling-machine, the combination of the hollowcaisson open at both ends and having an annular flange A', means locatedbetween said flange and the construction end of the tunnel for movingmeans foradvancing it from the construction end of the tunnel, combinedwith the ring slidin gly located within the caisson and the revolvinghead located within said ring, said head carrying a knife adjustablymounted therein and having an opening through said head adjacent to saidknife, substantially as specified.

3. Asubaqueous tunneling device comprising the following combinedelements: the hollow circular caisson open at both ends and having meansfor advancing it horizontally, a revolving head within the caisson, saidhead carryinga knife and having an opening therethrough adjacent to theknife, a conveyer mounted on said revolving head and adapted to revolvetherewith, means for moving said head horizontally within the caisson,and means for revolving said head and its conveyer, substantially asspecified.

Ll. A subaqueous tunneling-machine comprising the following combinedelements: the caisson open at both ends and means for advancing saidcaisson, t-he ring slidingly mounted within the caisson, theknife-carrying head located in said ring and having the knife adjustably mounted thereon, the openings adjacent to said knife, theman-hole in said head, and means for moving said head horizontallywithin the caisson.

5. In combination with the caisson, the revolving head located therein,said head carrying a series of knives, each knife having an adjustmentwith the revolving head, the series of knives arranged so as to extendfrom the center of the revolving head to its periphery, the openingsthrough said revolving head adjacent to said knives, the series ofmanholes through said head, means for revolving said head, and means formoving it horizontally within said caisson, as set forth.

6. In combination with the caisson, the revolving head located therein,the series of knives in said head, each knife having an independent adjustment, said knives extending from the center of the revolving head tothe periphery thereof, the opening through said revolving head adjacentto said knives, means for revolving said head, and means for advancingit horizontally within the caisson, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.n

LEONARD GROVER.

Vitnesses:

E. S. WHEELER, R. B. WHEELER.

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